Travelers Are Worried About Visiting an Iconic Italian Destination This Summer—What to Know

• Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez are tying the knot in Venice.
• Amid reports and fears of travel disruptions in the popular Italian destination, the city claims it “will be easy for Venice to accommodate such an event.”
• For anyone overlapping with the wedding, there’s one booking you should make ASAP.

When one of the wealthiest men in the world gets married, you know it will be a scene. And that’s exactly why travelers are already bracing for the impact of Jeff Bezos marrying Lauren Sanchez in Venice this June. 

“It seems that Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez have decided to get married in Venice on June 24-26. Reports say that they have reserved all water taxis in the city and will be taking over many of the high-end hotels,” one Redditor recently lamented on the Italy Travel subreddit. “I would not want to be anywhere near Venice during that time. Make alternate plans to go somewhere else if you value your sanity and your health.” 

However, it appears this was all by design. Morris Ceron, the director general of the Venice council, told the London Times he actually campaigned for the couple to have their wedding here. “Seven months ago, Domenico Dolce told me Bezos was getting married,” Ceron said. “I got to work to bring this marriage of the century to Venice—that’s how it started.

But these upcoming nuptials have drawn almost too much attention—so much so that the local government felt compelled to share a statement about the wedding to dispel any fears. 

“The many speculations and fake news circulating about Jeff Bezos’ wedding are completely unfounded. Only two hundred guests will have been invited and therefore it will be easy for Venice to accommodate such an event, without any disruption whatsoever to the city, its residents and visitors,” Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor of Venice, wrote. 

As Brugnaro noted, the city has hosted “international events much larger than this.” He also squashed the rumor that the Bezos wedding party has already rented out all the gondolas in the city. “The organization has categorically not booked large amounts of gondolas or excessive numbers of water taxis, and it is their utmost priority to make sure the city functions as normal, for all, with no abnormal disruption to anyone.”    

In fact, people may not even realize the wedding is taking place, as a spokesperson for the mayor of Venice told CNN that the wedding is likely actually taking place on Bezos’ superyacht, which will be anchored in the lagoon.

That said, the one thing people may have trouble finding is a luxury hotel room. According to CNN, the city’s best hotels—including the Belmond Hotel Cipriani, the St. Regis Venice, and the Gritti Palace—are almost all completely booked for the end of June. 

As for which celebrities fellow travelers may spot over the wedding weekend, that’s really anyone’s guess, but TMZ is speculating that Eva Longoria, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Kris Jenner, and Kim Kardashian have all made the list. 

So yes, it will be busy. But if you’ve already got plans to visit, you don’t necessarily have to re-book if you don’t want to.

“As Municipality of Venice, from the beginning, we are mutually working and supporting the organizers, to ensure that the event will be absolutely respectful of the fragility and uniqueness of the city,” Brugnaro added. “For this reason, we will work together for best result. Whoever loves Venice will always be welcome.”